Vulnerable
Rainy day funds gone,
got a camper and took off,
claiming carpe diem.
…
The former model,
at ninety now strides slowly.
Down death’s dark runway.
Memories have slipped,
yet she's taking it in stride.
Enjoys coloring.
…
Suddenly confused,
couldn't comprehend, find words.
Wondrous fragile brain.
Stroke? How could it be?
She’d made every healthy choice.
Life’s not fair. It’s not.
…
What do we do now?
We keep doing what we can,
while we can. I guess.
…
Roller coaster ride.
Illness, treatment, labile moods.
She says she’s ok.
…
She's ready for it.
The good, the bad, the changing.
Up for all of it.
She’s hanging in there.
Chemo’s round four ending soon.
Hoping for the best.
Sweet celebration.
Another milestone birthday.
Yes, she’s still alive.
Cancer took her breast.
She fought it, tried to stop it.
But lost in the end.
…
Time for hospice care.
Weakness, pain, profound sorrow.
And also, beauty.
…
Out in the wild woods,
old woman camping solo.
Snoring peacefully.
…
He camps in the woods.
Nightmares don’t reach him out there.
The war veteran.
…
Taught child to fix bikes,
repair, bring them back to life.
Never to return.
…
He hitched his horse here,
then he hid in the high hills.
And pulled the trigger.
Left a loving note,
said he longed to head back home.
This life was complete.
…
Twenty-six-year-old
under deep depression’s spell.
Found train tracks, dead end.
…
Suddenly vanished,
without a trace, nothing left.
Only memories.
…
The elders next-door,
had four kids, sixty-eight years.
Always together.
Through gorgeous, hard hikes,
gorges, scarps, long winding trails.
Lovebirds forever.
…
Split at the ER,
the inseparable pair.
Apart, torn apart.
Lost the other leg.
It’s been a hard, rich, full life.
Missing limbs, still whole.
After surgery,
he's back at the piano.
The neighbors rejoice.
…
The next-door neighbors
disagreed about the trees.
They will work it out.
He had the trees cut.
Necessary, and painful.
Will they forgive him?
…
Gusts of wind blew strong,
yet roofs and walls kept them safe.
They are fortunate.
Sheets of rain hit hard,
yet their homes kept them all dry.
How lucky they are!
In their neighborhood
some lost homes, and most lost sleep.
Everyone survived.
…
It was a hot day.
Distracted, led lost by greed.
Sad, sad, sad summer.
Loved children in cars,
migrants crammed in cattle trucks.
Cooked, baked, broiled, laid dead.
…
Snatched, taken by force,
kidnapped, carried off, captured.
For no good reason.
In captivity,
two young ones, tied together.
They have each other.
